Tuesday, December 29, 2015

This was a Christmas first.
As long as I have celebrated Christmas, I've never spent it on the move.

I am usually cooking at home, or helping out in someone else's.
~
The morning started off with a beautiful pink sky and we thought we might be in for yet more rain...
...just what we needed, right?

But on Christmas morning after picking up the older grandboys,

we headed off to see their dad, about two hours east of us.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and had great time celebrating Christmas.
It was nearly 80 degrees when we arrived and needless to say, it felt more like summer.

It was truly a blessing to for his boys to see their father in this new light.

He gifted them with iron crosses that he made for them in the shop.

I wish I would have remembered to get a photo of them.

The day ended as colorful as it had begun with this glorious sky.

It was soon time to say our goodbyes and head westward, toward home.

And then there was that awesome Cold Moon that won't happen again until 2034.

The first leg of our Christmas weekend journey was complete.

~

Early on Saturday morning, we loaded into the car for a four hour plus road trip.

We were heading west this time, taking the grands to their destination Christmas surprise.
They knew we had a trunk full of gifts for Adam's family,
but they were racking their brains as to why they would need swimming trunks :)
~
That fabulous moon was still hanging around as we made our way towards the mountains.
We were meeting up with the Tennessee Rays in Pigeon Forge...

...just about the half-way point for both of our families.

What would they do without their electronic devices?
Heck...what would I do we all do without them, am I right?? {{smile}}

And what makes a road trip more special than seeing a rainbow along the way?
~
And as planned, we made it to the Wilderness at the Smokies Resort right about lunch time.

Although they thought they had figured it out, Dacey and Dylan were pleasantly surprised,

not only to spend the weekend in Pigeon Forge, somewhere they had never been,

but to spend the weekend in Pigeon Forge with their cousins!
The difference in age is irrelevent to those kiddos.
~
Spending one day in the overly crowded indoor waterpark was quite enough,
So that evening we made our way through the heavy traffic into Gatlinburg to see the lights.

NOTE TO SELF:Do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to Gatlinburg at Christmastime.
~
Breakfast on Sunday morning at the Pancake Pantry was a must, according to Adam.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.
I had the sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon/butter syrup and sausage.
I don't think any one of us was able to eat all of what we ordered.
~
We then drove another mile or two into the Great Smoky Mountains.
It was misting rain part of the time but still so beautiful.

I was able to get some good fence shots that I will share on another linky :)

Of course these photos do this place no justice.
No justice at all.

The roaring waters of the Little Pigeon River was nearly deafening.

One of the many stone tunnels under the bridges in the Smokies.

Trees or not, the mountains majesty nearly takes my breath away.

Yes, it was a different kind of Christmas.
Did I miss all of the cooking, preparing and the typical Christmas scenerios?
Yes, maybe... just a bit.
But was it a fun way to have Christmas?
Absolutely.

It's not where you are, but who you're with...
...and why we are celebrating.
~
And there was someone who missed his mommy and daddy very much.

I'm pretty sure Oscar didn't enjoy his trip to the kennel as much as we enjoyed our trip :(
That's okay, buddy...you can go the next time.
~
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.
Can you even believe it's almost 2016???

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

It's that time again...time for my annual trip.
I travel there every year about this time and don't even need to pack a suitcase.
I'm going on yet another excursion down Christmas Memory Lane.
Wanna come with me?
~
I'm not really sure how old one has to be to consider themselves "vintage",

but I'm pretty sure, I fit the bill.
This post is chock full of vintage things and people :)

~
While reading this post from Dayle a few days ago,
one of her photos instantly transported me back in time..

It was of a beautiful vintage cardboard nativity that had been in her family for 75 years.

As soon as I saw it, an image from an old family photo album came to the forefront of my brain.

I realize you can barely see it in this old black and white snapshot but I think you get the idea.

I imagine that it was really quite beautiful in it's day.

I can't say whether or not that I actually remember the cardboard nativity, itself,
or just paging through the old photo albums and coming across it many times.

Isn't it funny how the memory works sometimes...or doesn't?!
~

As I was reminiscing, a good dose of nostalgia set in as it always does...

as I remembered the sweet simplicity of my childhood Christmases.
One memory led to another...and to another...

Anyone ever have any trees that resemble this fine one?

And get a load of that TV set, would ya!

It was all that poor tree could do, to support that angel-on-a-cloud tree topper...

(Look, I found this one on ebay!)

...it weighed a ton, or at least it seemed like it did when I was little.

One of my sisters still uses that old tree topper, today :)

The tree looks as if it's doing a hula dance...or maybe even a ball juggling act.

And then there were years we went to the other extreme...

That tree just is w-a-y too big for that desk.

Looks like Santa brought someone a new doll baby and stroller!

These are my sisters, Janet and Barbara.

Little Debby wasn't on the scene yet I guess...unless I was lying in a crib somewhere.

I hope they kept a better eye on their little sister than they did that poor little baby doll.

Quick...someone grab her before she slides out!

They certainly don't make baby items like they used to...thank goodness!

~

Below, in the back row are siblings, Jerry and Ruby

and that is Janet and Doug in front.

And then a few years later, here's me and my oldest sister, Lois,

who was pretty much my second mother.

She spoiled me rotten.

Everyone did...it was fun too...

until I started getting blamed for everything...because...well, just because :)

"Thank you, Santa!"

~

Below, several years later, sis Barb and I digging in to the presents.

I can tell this photo was taken with my dad's new, state-of-the-art Polaroid Instant camera.

Remember those applicators with that smelly liquid that you had to apply to "set' the pictures?

Ah, yes...photography at it's finest!

And one last photo, if you are still with me...

of my brother Jerry standing in front of our elaborate Christmas lights display.
Those were the days :)
~
Well, it's almost here and I've still got tons to do!
I'm not sure how much I'll be hangin' out in blogland, but we'll see.
Happy Christmasing, everyone!

HELLO, FRIENDS!

About Me

I am a transplanted southern girl, raised in Ohio, now living in Central NC. I am the baby out of eight children and being a part of a large, crazy family has been the biggest blessing of my life. I have been married to Jim for 40 years and we have two adult sons, three grandsons, one grand daughter. And last but not least, we have two ornery doxies, Oscar and recently adopted Tasha. I love the Lord Jesus and do my best to live for Him, although at times, I fail miserably...His grace amazes me. I love capturing the beauty of the Creator through the lens of my camera and I pray that my humble little blog is an encouragement to all who visit!
Blessings, Debby